Sanjan (second right) inspects the footpath together with Sakeh (second left) and others.
KUCHING: Despite the steady pace of development in the state, there are some places which have yet to receive the benefits of such development.
Kampung Parang, located a few kilometres from the state’s border with Indonesia, is one of the many villages in Padawan that does not have tar-sealed footpaths and street lights, and suffers from poor telecommunication and internet lines.
The plight of the villagers was recently made known to Sanjan Daik, who is the political secretary to Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs deputy minister Chong Chieng Jen, during a cheque-presentation ceremony at the village, according to a press statement yesterday.
Village security and development committee (JKKK) member Sakeh Burai lamented that despite being just 70km or a 90-minute drive away from Kuching city, Kampung Parang has never enjoyed tar-sealed footpaths, street lighting or good telecommunication lines in their village.
“With poor telecommunication lines, we can’t access the internet. Therefore, we feel that we are being cut off from the outside world even though we aren’t that far from the city,” he said.
He added that their community hall was old and small, and had not been upgraded to a modern multi-purpose hall which could cater to the needs of the village.
“There are now about 70 houses and a population of about 400 people in the village. Our small community hall can’t accommodate the present numbers, and we have difficulty in carrying out any functions or events at our village,” Sakeh said.
According to him, the villagers had submitted applications for various projects to the authorities but had yet to receive any reply.
During the ceremony, Sanjan handed over two cheques – one for RM2,000 to the JKKK and another for RM2,000 to the village’s church.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Chong Chieng Jen for the funds, which would be put to upgrading the footpaths and the church building in our village,” Sakeh said.